Shoe



My 22', 1923.y 1,456,251

| E. MURPHY SHOE 'Filed April 25. /1922 liff fill/11111 i 'Luka E MUFPEH atented ll/,lay 22, i923.

LUKE E. MURPHY, GF MIIWAUKEE, TISCONSIN.

siren.

Application filed April 25, 1922. Serial No. 556,523.

To all @0710mt may concern:

Be it known that l, LUKE E. MURPHY, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Milwaukee.l in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shoes; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof. Thevinvention relates to shoe fasteners. Hitherto, in the lacing of shoes, difficulty has been experienced with the eyes which are spaced in marginally from the edge of the upper by reason of the manner in which the lace lies thereunder. The inner crossings )f the lace result in unusual thickness at places adjacent the eyes and this bunching proves uncomfortable and creates an irregularity that is displeasing to the eye. Similarly with the hooks, their being spaced inwardly from the edge results in an angling or upsetting of the hook gromet by which the hook is v secured to the shoe being displaced slightly from the surface of the ankle so that the result is uncomfortable.

eyes and hooks secured by means of groniets to the edge of the shoe upper, the hooks and eyes being spaced laterally marginally from the edge so that the shoe upper does not ex-V tend beneath the hooks and eyes. Thus the lacing does not at any place overlie the leather of the shoe, but extends between the edges and over the tongue.

A primary object of the invention is the prevention of the cutting action by bunched lace, which results from the structure wherein the eye is spaced inwardly in a marginal manner and the elimination of tendency of the hooks to angle. This renders the shoe more comfortable to the foot and gives it a more pleasing appearance as the surface is substantially smooth. There is very little frictional resistance to the movement of the shoe lace, which is received in the metallic eyes and hooks and has very little superficial Contact with the leather. This permits the lace to be readily tightened on the ankle and makes for ready adjustability of the lace so that the upper accommodates itself to the movement of the foot of the wearer.

An object of the invention is the provision of such structure as will have the foregoing advantages and yet be adapted to any style of lacing, permitting the lace to be readily inserted into the eyes without loss of time.

The invention comprises a plurality ofv kthereon is not in a kdirection at an angleto the plane in which the gromet lies, but is substantially in the same `plane with the gromet. v

Vlith theV above and other objects lin view,

which will appear as the description p roy' ceeds, my invention resides in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts, substantially as hereinafter described and more particularly defined by the appended claim, it being understood that such changes in the precise embodiment of the herein disclosed invention may be made as come within the scope of the claim.

Tn the accompanying drawing, I have illustrated one complete example of the physical embodiment of the present invenl tion constructed according to the best mode I have so far devised for the practical application of the principles thereof, and in which Figure 1 is a front elevation ofa shoe y provided with the novel hooks and eyes, and

Figures 2 and 3 are sections substantially on the lines 2 2 and 3 8, respectively, of Figure 1.

The shoe is provided with uppers 10 provided with lining 11 at the edges of which is positioned ,narrow reinforcing bands 12. Hooks 13 terminate in gromets 14 directed through reinforcements 12 and lining 11 and lying substantially in the same plane as the hooks. The hooks are spaced slightly from the edges of the upper inwardly and may be of any desired number, four of them being shown in the embodiment illustrated. The ends 15 of the hooks are spaced slightly from the body portion 16 thereof, so as to permit the free entry of the lace -17 which may be readily positioned therein and withdrawn. The lower part of the shoe has a series of pairs of spaced eyes 18 secured by body portions 19, substantially in the manner in which hooks are secured to reinforcements 12 and lining 11. The eyes are, also, spaced in, and the hooks and eyes are substantially alined so that the lace may-be readily threaded through the hooks and eyes and tensioned to draw the upper closely about the ankle.

This movement isunimpeded by rictional Contact of lace 17 with the leather. Lace 17 does not oyerlie any part of the shoe except tongue 20, Which contacts with lining 11 and is spaced over gromets 1e in such Wise as to prevent the metal thereof from biting into the flesh of the wearer. As both hooks and eyes are in substantially the same plane as the gromets, by which they are secured to the shoe upper, the tensioning of lace 17 does not result in any angling or the gromet With respect to the surface ofthe toot. The fact that lace 17 does not at any point underlie the edges or' the front of the shoe prevents a bunchng along the edge and eliminates irregularities, the edge of the shoe being` substantially of uniform thickness from top to bottom and lying perfectly smoeth along the afoot. v rflee tree movement of lace 17 in the metallic eyes and hooks permits the shoe to adjust itself readily to diverse positions of the foot and at all times the structure is entirely comfortable and ornamental. v

I claim rlhe combination of a shoe upper having a pair of spaced flies formed vof an outer and an inner ply, a series of opposed hooks projecting into the space betweenl the lies and having shanks positioned between the plies, and securing means extending through the Shanks and through the inner ply and covered by the outer ply.

In testimony that 1 claim the foregoingl have hereunto set my hand at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State ofWVisconsin.

LUKE E. MURPHY 

